Spray ball construction



April 1962 D. R. HOLDREN 3,031,148

SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Donald R. Hold ran.

147' 7' GENE Y5 Apr?1 24, 1962 D. R. HOLDREN 3,031,148

SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR DONALD R. HOLDREN BY AJ-W2 ATTORNEYS April 24, 1962 D. R. HOLDREN SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 25, 1959 INVENTOR DONALD R. HOLDREN AITQ'RNEYS United States 3,031,148 SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION Donald R. Holdren, West Liberty, Ohio, assignor to Holdren Brothers, Inc., West Liberty, Ohio, at corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 25, 1959, Ser. No. 801,890 3 Claims. (Cl. 239-559) The present invention relates to a cleaner for the interior of storage or processing tanks, tank trucks, tank cars and the like, and more particularly to a spray type cleaner for cleaning an area completely surrounding the same.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 709,159, filed January 15, 1958.

The present invention includes a hollow ball, suitably carried within a tank and having the interior connected with a source of cleansing fluid under pressure. The ball is provided with a plurality of perforations or holes, forming jets for spraying the ceiling and the upper parts of the side walls of the tank.

Inasmuch as the ball must be connected with a tube for supplying fluid to the interior thereof, and inasmuch as the radially extending outlets from the ball cannot be provided at the inlet to the ball, the areas immediately surrounding the inlet to the ball are provided with outlet perforations so designed as to direct the fluid to the section of the wall immediately surrounding the inlet tube.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a tank showing the improved cleaner therein;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cleaner ball and the tube leading thereto, the upper part of the coupling for the tube being shown partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cleaning ball, the in let tube being removed;

FIG.,4 is a side view of the ball;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of an insulated tank with my improved cleaner therein;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a second cleaner ball constructed in accordance with the present invention and constituting a modification thereof;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the cleaner ball of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of a tank showing the cleaner of FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the tank is indicated at '20, three of the side walls being shown at 22, 24 and 26; the bottom wall is shown at 28, and the top wall at 30. The cleaner assembly 32 includes a ball 34 and an inlet tube 36 for the interior of the ball. A threaded coupling 38 is suitably connected in sealing relation with the top of the tank 30 by a nut 40.

The ball 34, as is more clearly shown in FIG. 4, is hollow and comprises a lower semi-spherical section 42 and an upper section 44 which is partly semi-spherical in shape, it being distortednear the upper part for the purpose hereinafter described. Section 42 is formed with an upwardly extending lip 46, and section 44 is provided with a downwardly extending lip 48. These lips are in complementing relationship and are sealingly held in such relationship by a clip 50. This clip 50 is substantially semi-circular and is provided with ends 52 which are pivotally mounted in openings 54 in the ball section 44. The clip 50 extends around the bottom of ball section 42, and,

when in vertical position, clamps lip 46 in sealing relationship with lip 48.

3,831,143 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 ice Ball section 44 is provided with a neck 56 which is suitably secured to the tube 36 as at 58, for example, by butt Welding.

The lower section 42 and the lower part of the upper section 44 of the ball 34 are impervious; the upper section 44 is provided with a plurality of perforations 60; those perforations in the lower three rows in the upper section 44 extend radially.

It is highly desirable to thoroughly cover the entire surface of the ceiling and upper side walls with the spray of cleaning fluid; such fluid, when so sprayed, will flow down the side walls and over the floor to clean these walls and floor. Inasmuch as the neck 56 and tube cover a large area of the top of the ball and therefore cannot include jets or Openings, other means must be adopted to spray the ceiling immediately about the tube 36 and particularly above the irregular coupling. To this end, I distort the upper part of section 44 so as to provide the correct angle of wall surface whereby holes drilled therethrough, at right angles to the surface, will direct the spray to where it is desired, namely substantially parallelly of the tube 36. One form of distortion from spherical is by providing a substantially horizontal and flat ring portion immediately surrounding the neck 58, and the holes 64 therein extend vertically.

The so spacing of the holes 64, without rearranging the aim of the next adjacent lower circle of holes from radial distribution, would rob the circular area surrounding the area sprayed through holes 64, of the required cleansing spray. Therefore, the portion 66 immediately surrounding the portion 62 is also flat, but is disposed at an angle of approximately 18 degrees from the horizontal portion 62. The holes 68 therein are arranged at right angles with respect to the surface of the portion 66. To further equalize the spray, i.e., provide for the proper distribution for the area immediately surrounding the area sprayed through holes 68, the portion 70 immediately surrounding the portion 66 is also flat, but is disposed at an angle of substantially 18 degrees from the portion 66 and substantially 36 degrees from the portion 62. The holes 72 in the portion 70 are at right angles to the surface of said portion 70. By so arranging the holes 60, 64, 68, and 72, substantially equal distribution is effected onto the ceiling and the upper parts of the side walls including the area immediately surrounding tube 36. The dash lines 74 in FIG. 1 merely indicate the main streams, it being understood that some of the fluid will be directed between the dash lines and onto the ceiling and walls. Thus although a large portion of the ball 34 lacks a distributing area because of the inlet tube 36, nevertheless by positioning the holes 60, 64, 68, and 72 as herein shown, the entire upper part of the tank including the portion immediately surrounding the tube 36 is subjected to jets of cleansing fluid.

An example of relative sizes and number of jets is as follows: In a ball having approximately 4 inch horizontal diameter, four equally spaced holes 64 are provided; ten equally spaced holes 63 are provided; fifteen equally spaced holes 72 are provided. The row of holes immediately below the portion 70 includes twenty equally spaced holes; the next row below includes twenty-five equally spaced holes; the lowermost row of holes in the section 44 contains thirty equally spaced holes. A drill is employed for all of the holes.

The interior as well as the exterior of the ball is polished, before welding, to a number 4 finish. Preferably the ball and the tube are formed of stainless steel.

I have shown the ball 34 in an insulated type of tank in FIG. 5. Here the inner walls, illustrated by the top wall 30, are surrounded by outer walls, one of which is shown at 76, there being air or other insulating material sealed between the inner and outer walls of the tank.

Here tube 36 and ball 34 are suitably suspended by a fitting, the lower part of which is shown at 78. Aligned holes are cut through walls 76 and 30 for receiving a tube 80. The lower end of tube 80 is sealed with and secured to inner wall 30 by welding 82, and the lower part of fitting 78 is sealed with and secured to upper wall 76 by welding 84. Tube 80 is sealingly secured to fitting 78. By the present invention cleansing spray can be conducted into the tube 80 and over the welding 82.

Reference is next made to FIGS. 6 through 8 which illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention which is particularly adaptable for cleaning dairy tanks of the type indicated generally at 100 in FIG. 8. Tanks of this general type includes a removable lid 102 and a vertical side wall 103 it being desirable to concentrate the majority of the cleaning eflect of the ball 34-A on the vertical side wall 103. This is best accomplished by concentrating most of the spray, released from ball 34-A, on the upper inner surface of side wall 103 at the locations 105.

At the same time it is also desirable to direct a small portion of the spray vertically upwardly in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of tube 36.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, ball 34-A includes a side wall portion 107 provided with a plurality of orifices 108 directed radially outwardly in a direction substantially normal to an axis 110 extending vertically through the ball.

Ball 34-A also includes a flat top wall portion 112 provided with a second plurality of orifices 113. Top wall portion 112 is preferably formed as a thin wall section lying in a plane substantially normal to vertical axis 110. The orifices 113 can then be formed to direct a spray vertically upwardly by punching or drilling holes normal to top wall portion 112.

In order to concentrate most of the water spray on the upper portions of side wall 103 of'tank 100 the total cross-sectional area of laterally directed orifices 108 is made substantially greater than the total cross-sectional area of vertically directed orifices 113.

The wall portion 107 is preferably formed as a right circular cylindrical section so that holes can be punched or drilled perpendicularly through the section to provide orifices that will direct spray in a direction substantially normal to vertical axis 110.

Ball 34-A also includes an intermediate wall portion 120 provided with a plurality of orifices 121 that are directed radially outwardly and upwardly. Here again the total cross-sectional area of orifices 121 is substantially small as compared with the total cross-sectional area of orifices 108 so that most of the spray will be released from orifices 108 and directed against the interior of the tank at the locations 105 as previously described.

It will be understood that in the preferred embodiments the control of the direction at which spray is released is achieved by forming a thin wall portion normal to the desired direction and by forming an orifice normal to said thin wall portion.

The direction at which the spray is released can also be controlled by forming relatively thick wall sections and drilling or punching holes through such relatively thick wall sections in the desired direction, not necessarily perpendicular to the wall section, the control of direction being achieved here by the formation of a passage having axial length rather than by an orifice through a thin wall.

The control of direction of the sprays released from the ball can also be accomplished by forming a perfectly spherical ball, without the flat top and side wall portions of FIGS. 6 and 7, but with a thin wall of the type shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The thin side wall of the spherical ball can then be provided with small round dimpled areas at each orifice location so that each dimpled area departs from the general spherical shape of the ball and lies in a plane normal to the direction at which the spray is to be'released. Each dimpled area is next provided with a punched or drilled hole formed perpendicular through the dimpled area to provide an orifice which will release spray in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the dimpled area.

While the forms of embodiments herein shown and described constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms may be adopted falling within the scope of the claims that follow.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for cleaning the interior of a tank comprising a hollow spray head formed of thin walled sections; means for joining said sections together at a junction; means for supporting said spray head within the tank and spaced from the interior walls of the tank, said means including a fluid inlet tube for supplying cleansing fluid to the interior of the spray head, the top of said spray head including a thin wall portion surrounding said inlet tube and provided with a plurality of orifices the planes of tangency to said thin wall portion at said orifices being substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said inlet tube whereby jets of liquid released from said orifices are directed substantially parallel to said tube, said spray head including a thin cylindrical side wall portion provided with a plurality of orifices, the planes of tangency to said wall portion at said orifices being substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of said inlet tube whereby jets of liquid are released in directions substantially normal to said longitudinal axis, the bottom of said spray head being substantially free of orifices whereby most of the cleansing fluid is released from the upper portion of said spray head for impingement on the upper regions of a tank.

2. An apparatus for cleaning the interior of a tank comprising a hollow spray head formed of thin walled sections; means for joining said sections together at a junction; means for supporting said spray head within the tank and spaced from the interior walls of the tank, said means including a fluid inlet tube for supplying cleansing fluid to the interior of the spray head, the top of said spray head including a thin walled top wall portion surrounding said inlet tube and provided with a plurality of upwardly facing orifices for releasing jets of liquid in directions substantially parallel with said inlet tube, said spray head including a thin cylindrical side wall portion provided with a plurality of orifices, the planes of tangency to said wall portion at said orifices being substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of said inlet tube whereby jets of liquid are released in directions substantially normal to said longitudinal axis, the bottom of said spray head being substantially free of orifices whereby most of the cleansing fluid is released from the upper portion of said spray head for impingement on the upper regions of a tank, the upper portion of said sray head also including orifices each of which are directed uwardly and outwardly in an intermediate wall portion.

3. An apparatus for cleaning the interior of a tank comprising, in combination, a cleansing fluid inlet tube for extension through the wall of a tank, said tube including a longitudinal axis; and a thin walled hollow spray head including an annular thin walled top wall section provided with a plurality of perforations, said top wall section being substantially normal to said longitudinal axis whereby said perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid in directions substantially parallel with said inlet tube; said spray head also including an intermediate wall section provided with a second plurality of perforations, said upper wall section being extended outwardly and downwardly from said top wall section whereby said second plurality of perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid upwardly and outwardly at inclined angles, said spray head including a lower wall section substantially free of perforations whereby at least most of the cleansing fluid from the upper portion of the spray head impinges on the upper regions of the tank, and said spray head including a wall section between said 5 intermediate and lower wall section and provided with a third plurality of perforations, said intermediate Wall section being substantially parallel with said longitudinal axis whereby said third plurality of perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid in directions substantially normal 5 to said intake tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 822,546 Newman June 5, 1906 Oliver Jan. 12, 1909 Sladden Feb. 13, 1923 Blair Mar. 4, 1930 Morgan Apr. 7, 1931 De Baugh Sept. 3, 1940 Seiberling et a1. July 21, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany July 11, 1881 Germany Nov. 1, 1906 

